Shadow's most defining character trait is his cold-heartedness and inability to truly connect to anything other than his loyal dog, Interceptor. Constantly identified that he'd kill anyone for the right price, Shadow truly has no affiliation and displays no emotion or interest in anything, rarely even speaking.

Shadow is classified as an Assassin, a job/class in the Final Fantasy series, and as such doesn't rely on brute strength and instead speed/stamina. Shadow's only piece of weaponry is a dagger, but has such a large arsenal and variety of these knives that his limited equipment is hardly an issue.

As aforementioned, Shadow also has a single friend, which is his apparent Doberman Pinscher dog named Interceptor. As the two are extremely connected, Shadow has control over the dog and can use him in combat.